48-658: The Wahweap Formation of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument is a geological formation in southern Utah and northern Arizona, around the Lake Powell region, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous ( Campanian stage). Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. The Wahweap formation is divided into four members, which are listed below with their respective ages: The Wahweap Formation shows
96-464: A density of 111.04 inhabitants/sq mi (42.872/km ), compared to 93.844/sq mi (36.233/km ) for the nation as a whole. While conterminous U.S. has the precise meaning of contiguous U.S. (both adjectives meaning "sharing a common boundary"), other terms commonly used to describe the 48 contiguous states have a greater degree of ambiguity. Because Alaska is also a part of North America , the term continental United States also includes that state, so
144-617: A group of cavalry to the headwaters of the Escalante River. In 1871 Jacob Hamblin of Kanab , on his way to resupply the second John Wesley Powell expedition, mistook the Escalante River for the Dirty Devil River and became the first Anglo to travel the length of the canyon. In 1879 the San Juan Expedition crossed through the region on their way to a proposed Mormon colony in the far southeastern corner of Utah. Traveling on
192-470: A largely unexplored route, the group eventually arrived at the 1,200-foot (370 m) sandstone cliffs that surrounded Glen Canyon . They found the only breach for many miles in the otherwise vertical cliffs, which they named Hole-in-the-Rock . The narrow, steep, and rocky crevice eventually led to a steep sandy slope in the lower section and eventually down to the Colorado River . With winter settling in,
240-618: A monument also nixed the Andalex Coal Mine that was proposed for a remote location on the Kaiparowits Plateau. Wilderness designation for the lands in the monument had long been sought by environmental groups; however, the designation of a monument is not the same as wilderness designation, as activities such as motorized vehicle and mountain bike use are allowed in National Monuments. There are contentious issues peculiar to
288-441: A state, it was properly included within the continental U.S. due to being an incorporated territory . The term mainland United States is sometimes used synonymously with continental United States , but technically refers only to those parts of states connected to the landmass of North America, thereby excluding not only Hawaii and overseas insular areas , but also islands which are part of continental states but separated from
336-661: A substantial amount of invertebrate activity ranging from fossilized insect burrows in petrified logs to various mollusks that characterize the shell beds. Large fossilized crabs are common at most shell bed sites in the Wahweap, and over 1,900 gastropod specimens (of four likely genera) have been unearthed in the formation's siltstone . Dinosaurs known from the Wahweap include at least 2 species of hadrosaur , at least two ceratopsians and at least one theropod . Acristavus A. gagslarsoni A hadrosaurid closely related to Brachylophosaurus and Maiasaura . Also known from
384-401: A unique trace fossil from the Wahweap was discovered that indicates a predator–prey relationship between dinosaurs and primitive mammals. The trace fossil includes at least two fossilized mammalian den complexes as well as associated digging grooves presumably caused by a maniraptoran dinosaur. The proximity indicates a case of probable active predation of the burrow inhabitants by the owners of
432-469: Is actual land, composing 83.65 percent of the country's total land area, and is comparable in size to the area of Australia. Officially, 160,820.25 square miles (416,522.5 km ) of the contiguous United States is water area, composing 62.66 percent of the nation's total water area. The contiguous United States, if it were a country, would be fifth on the list of countries and dependencies by area , behind Russia , Canada , China , and Brazil . However,
480-575: Is dominated by a single long ridge, called the Kaiparowits Plateau from the west, and Fifty-Mile Mountain when viewed from the east. Fifty-Mile Mountain stretches southeast from the town of Escalante to the Colorado River in Glen Canyon . The eastern face of the mountain is a 2,200 ft (670 m) escarpment . The western side (the Kaiparowits Plateau) is a shallow slope descending to
528-607: Is hereby granted." The statute was repealed by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, but the repeal was subject to valid existing rights. A process for resolving disputed claims has not been established, and in 1996, the 104th United States Congress passed a law that prohibited the R.S. 2477 (proposed resolution regulations) written by the Clinton Administration from taking effect without congressional approval. The right to maintain and improve
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#1732851720804576-630: The Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico , and the U.S. Virgin Islands . The colloquial term " Lower 48 " is also used, especially in relation to Alaska. The related but distinct term continental United States includes Alaska, which is also on North America, but separated from the 48 states by British Columbia in Canada, but excludes Hawaii and all the insular areas in the Caribbean and
624-565: The Northwest Angle in Minnesota are three such places. Alburgh, Vermont , is not directly connected by land, but is accessible by road via bridges from within Vermont and from New York. By contrast, Hyder, Alaska , is physically part of contiguous Alaska and its easternmost town, but the only practical access is by road through Canada or by seaplane. The 48 contiguous states are: In addition,
672-522: The Pacific . The greatest distance (on a great-circle route) entirely within the contiguous U.S. is 2,802 miles (4,509 km), coast-to-coast between Florida and the State of Washington ; the greatest north–south line is 1,650 miles (2,660 km). The contiguous United States occupies an area of 3,119,884.69 square miles (8,080,464.3 km ). Of this area, 2,959,064.44 square miles (7,663,941.7 km )
720-614: The South Pacific Ocean in Polynesia , south of the equator — it is 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of Hawaii . In American Samoa, the contiguous United States is called the "mainland United States" or "the states"; those not from American Samoa are called palagi (outsiders). Apart from off-shore U.S. islands , a few continental portions of the contiguous United States are accessible by road only by traveling through Canada. Point Roberts, Washington ; Elm Point, Minnesota ; and
768-536: The Two Medicine Formation . Adelolophus A. hutchisoni UCMP 152028 ; partial maxilla A lambeosaurine hadrosaurid , possibly a parasaurolophin . Diabloceratops D. eatoni UMNH VP 166999 ; "a skull preserving the entire left side of the skull and portions of the right side" Lythronax L. argestes A tyrannosaurine Machairoceratops M. cronusi UMNH VP 20550 ; partial skull A fair number of mammals spanning
816-568: The conterminous United States ) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America . The term excludes the only two non- contiguous states, which are Alaska and Hawaii (they are also the last two states to be admitted to the Union ), and all other offshore insular areas , such as the U.S. territories of American Samoa , Guam ,
864-714: The 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959. Alaska is the northwest extremity of the North American continent, separated from the U.S. West Coast by the Canadian province of British Columbia . The term Lower 48 has, for many years, been a common Alaskan equivalent for "contiguous United States"; today, many Alaskans use the term "Outside" for those states, though some may use "Outside" to refer to any location not within Alaska. The territory of Hawaii , consisting of
912-549: The BLM. Visitor centers are located in Cannonville , Big Water , Escalante , and Kanab . The monument stretches from the towns of Big Water , Glendale , and Kanab, Utah in the southwest to the towns of Escalante and Boulder in the northeast. The monument is slightly larger in area than the state of Delaware . After a reduction ordered by presidential proclamation in December 2017,
960-694: The Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante monuments. On October 8, 2021, he restored the original boundaries. Two lawsuits, Garfield County v. Biden , filed by the state of Utah and two Utah counties, and Dalton v. Biden, filed by a mining company and recreationalists, seek to overturn the reaffirmed original boundaries and attack the Antiquities Act . The tribes filed motions to intervene. On August 11, 2023, U.S. District Judge David Nuffer dismissed both cases, explaining that "the Antiquities Act gives
1008-570: The District of Columbia who were born in, or can trace their family ancestry to, Puerto Rico. The U.S. Virgin Islands is a U.S. territory located directly to the east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. The term "stateside" is used to refer to the mainland, in relation to the U.S. Virgin Islands (see Stateside Virgin Islands Americans ). American Samoa is a U.S. territory located in
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#17328517208041056-619: The Fremont hunted and gathered below the plateau and near the Escalante Valley, and the ancestral Puebloans farmed in the canyons. Both groups grew corn, beans, and squash, built brush-roofed pithouses, and took advantage of natural rock shelters. Ruins and rock art can be found throughout the Monument. The first record of white settlers in the region dates from 1866 when Captain James Andrus led
1104-636: The Interior by the American military organizations of the time—the future states of Alaska and Hawaii , then each only organized incorporated territories of the Union, were respectively covered by the Eleventh Air Force and Seventh Air Force during the war. Residents of Alaska, Hawaii and off-shore U.S. territories have unique labels for the contiguous United States because of their own locations relative to them. The vast territory of Alaska became
1152-470: The Utah Schools and Lands Exchange Act of 1998, supported by Democrats and Republicans, and signed into law as Public Law 105–335 on October 31, 1998. A more difficult problem is the resolution of United States Revised statute 2477 (R.S. 2477) road claims. R.S. 2477 (Section 8 of the 1866 Mining Act) states: "The right-of-way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses,
1200-568: The base of Fifty-Mile Mountain. The Dry Fork Slots of Coyote Gulch and lower Coyote Gulch are also located off the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. Since 2000, numerous dinosaur fossils over 75 million years old have been found at Grand Staircase–Escalante. In 2002, a volunteer at the Monument discovered a 75-million-year-old dinosaur near the Arizona border. On October 3, 2007, the dinosaur's name, Gryposaurus monumentensis (hook-beaked lizard from
1248-666: The claw marks. Grand Staircase%E2%80%93Escalante National Monument The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is a United States national monument protecting the Grand Staircase , the Kaiparowits Plateau , and the Canyons of the Escalante ( Escalante River ) in southern Utah . It was established in 1996 by President Bill Clinton under the authority of the Antiquities Act with 1.7 million acres of land, later expanded to 1,880,461 acres (7,610 km ). In 2017,
1296-420: The company decided to go down the crevice rather than retreat. After six weeks of labor, including excavation and using explosives to shift rock, they rigged a pulley system to lower their wagons and animals down the resulting road and off the cliff. There they built a ferry, crossed the river, and climbed back out through Cottonwood Canyon on the other side. A national monument was initially proposed in 1934, but
1344-404: The continental United States, and as the 48 contiguous states. The District of Columbia is not always specifically mentioned as being part of CONUS . OCONUS is derived from CONUS with O for outside added, thus referring to Outside of Continental United States. The term lower 48 is also used to refer to the conterminous United States. The National Geographic style guide recommends
1392-406: The designation of the national monument, questioning whether the Antiquities Act allowed such vast amounts of land to be designated. However, United States Supreme Court decisions have long established the president's discretion to protect land under the Antiquities Act, and several lawsuits filed in an effort to overturn the designation were dismissed by federal courts. The area's designation as
1440-611: The discovery of a new species, Lythronax argestes , was announced. It is a tyrannosaur that is approximately 13 million years older than Tyrannosaurus , named for its great resemblance to its descendant. The specimen can be seen at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Humans did not settle permanently in the area until the Basketmaker III Era , around AD 500. Both the Fremont and ancestral Puebloan people lived here;
1488-496: The entire Hawaiian Islands archipelago except for Midway Atoll , became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is the southernmost U.S. state, and the latest one to join the Union. Not part of any continent, Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean , about 2,200 miles (3,541 km) from North America and almost halfway between North America and Asia . In Hawaii and overseas American territories , for instance,
Wahweap Formation - Misplaced Pages Continue
1536-576: The lower Campanian are known from the Wahweap as well, including at least 15 genera of multituberculates , cladotherians , marsupials , and placental insectivores . Trace fossils are also relatively abundant in the Wahweap, and include vertebrate tracks as well as burrow activity. Tracks preserved in the capping sandstone indicate the presence of crocodylomorphs , which had been previously known in this area only from teeth elements, as well as ornithischian dinosaurs. At least one possible theropod track has been identified in this area as well. In 2010
1584-577: The mainland, such as the Aleutian Islands ( Alaska ), San Juan Islands ( Washington ), the Channel Islands ( California ), the Keys ( Florida ), the barrier islands ( Gulf and East Coast states), and Long Island (New York). CONUS , a technical term used by the U.S. Department of Defense , General Services Administration , NOAA/National Weather Service , and others, has been defined both as
1632-519: The many unpaved roads in the national monument is disputed, with county officials placing county road signs on the roads they claim and occasionally applying bulldozers to grade claimed roads, while the Bureau of Land Management tries to exert control over the same roads. Litigation between the state and federal government over R.S. 2477 and road maintenance in the national monument is an ongoing issue. On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump ordered that
1680-608: The monument encompassed 1,003,863 acres (4,062 km ), but it was restored to 1,870,000 acres (7,568 km ) in 2021. The western part of the monument is dominated by the Paunsaugunt Plateau and the Paria River , and is adjacent to Bryce Canyon National Park . This section shows the geologic progression of the Grand Staircase . Features include the slot canyons of Bull Valley Gorge, Willis Creek , and Lick Wash which are accessed from Skutumpah Road. The center section
1728-404: The monument's size be reduced by nearly 47% to 1,003,863 acres (4,062 km ), with the remainder divided into three areas, two of which border one another along the Paria River . Bears Ears National Monument was significantly reduced in size at the same time. Conservation, angling, hunting, and outdoor recreation groups filed suit to block any reduction in the national monument, arguing that
1776-504: The monument's size was reduced by half in a succeeding presidential proclamation , and it was restored in 2021. The land is among the most remote in the country; it was the last to be mapped in the contiguous United States . The monument is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as part of the National Conservation Lands system. Grand Staircase–Escalante is the first and largest national monument managed by
1824-708: The monument) was announced in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . G. monumentensis was at least 30 feet (9.1 m) long and 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, and has a powerful jaw with more than 800 teeth. Many of the specimens from the Kaiparowits Formation are reposited at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City . Two ceratopsid (horned) dinosaurs, also discovered at
1872-739: The monument, were introduced by the Utah Geological Survey in 2007. They were uncovered in the Wahweap Formation , which is just below the Kaiparowits formation, where the duckbill was extracted. They lived about 80 million or 81 million years ago. The two fossils are called the Last Chance skull and the Nipple Butte skull. They were found in 2002 and 2001, respectively. Both were later identified as belonging to Diabloceratops . In 2013
1920-611: The president broad authority to designate national monuments and that courts cannot second-guess that authority." The state of Utah and other parties have since appealed the dismissal, but no such challenge has been successful in 100 years of the Antiquity Act's history. The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit heard the case in September 2024. Contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially
1968-401: The president has no legal authority to materially shrink a national monument. The cases were still pending at the 2020 election . The Trump administration subsequently approved logging within the national monument and coal mining in the area that was removed from the monument. On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for a review of the reduction of
Wahweap Formation - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-554: The project floundered until several decades later. It was on September 18, 1996, at the height of the 1996 presidential election campaign by President Bill Clinton , that the national monument was declared and was controversial from the moment of creation. The declaration ceremony was held at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona , rather than in Utah. Local officials such as Democratic U.S. Representative Bill Orton from Utah objected to
2064-571: The south and west. East of Fifty-Mile Mountain is the Canyons of the Escalante . The monument is bounded by Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the east and south. The popular hiking, backpacking, and canyoneering areas include Calf Creek Falls off Utah Scenic Byway 12 , and Zebra Canyon, Harris Wash , and the Devils Garden . The latter areas are accessed via the Hole-in-the-Rock Road , which extends southeast from Escalante, near
2112-470: The state of Utah. Certain plots of land were assigned when Utah became a state (in 1896) as School and Institutional Trust Lands (SITLa, a Utah state agency), to be managed to produce funds for the state school system. These lands included scattered plots in the monument that could no longer be developed. The SITLa plots within the monument were exchanged for federal lands elsewhere in Utah, plus equivalent mineral rights and $ 50 million cash by an act of Congress,
2160-655: The term is qualified with the explicit inclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity. On May 14, 1959, the United States Board on Geographic Names issued the following definitions based partially on the reference in the Alaska Omnibus Bill, which defined the continental United States as "the 49 States on the North American Continent and the District of Columbia..." The Board reaffirmed these definitions on May 13, 1999. However, even before Alaska became
2208-630: The terms the Mainland or U.S. Mainland are often used to refer to the 49 states in North America. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea , approximately 1,000 miles (1,609 km) southeast of Miami , Florida . Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens and are free to move to the mainland United States. The term Stateside Puerto Rican refers to residents of any U.S. state or
2256-411: The total area of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, ranks third or fourth. Brazil is 431,000 square kilometers (166,000 sq mi) larger than the contiguous United States, but smaller than the entire United States including Alaska, Hawaii and overseas territories. The 2020 U.S. census population of the area was 328,571,074, comprising 99.13 percent of the nation's total population, and
2304-566: The use of contiguous or conterminous United States instead of lower 48 when the 48 states are meant, unless used in the context of Alaska. Almost all of Hawaii is south of the southernmost point of the conterminous United States in Florida. During World War II , the first four numbered Air Forces of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) were said to be assigned to the Zone of
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